In open meeting areas, mobile chairs are often provided for participants in the meeting. By providing chairs which are mobile, the participants can readily move the chairs around into a different configuration most suitable for the type of meeting being held.
To further improve the comfort of the participants, separate ottomans or footstools may be provided which are associated with individual chairs and provide increased comfort, particularly for extended meetings. Additionally, such ottomans may be provided with storage areas for documents and the like.
It is an object of the invention to provide an improved seating system comprising a chair and ottoman-like stool which overcomes disadvantages associated with known chairs and stools.
The invention relates to a seating system comprising a chair and stool which are useable separately from each other but also connectable one within the other by a fixed connection or fastening to permit both components to be moved together in unison.
The chair is a mobile type chair having casters thereon. Preferably, a pair of casters are located on the front of the chair while support posts or legs are located on the back of the chair. When the casters and legs are disposed on the floor as occurs during use, the contact of the legs with the floor prevents undesirable shifting of the chair which might otherwise occur if four casters were provided on the chair bottom. The back of the chair includes a handle to facilitate repositioning of the chair within a space such as a meeting area. When a person grabs the handle and lifts the back of the chair, the weight of the chair is supported on the casters and allows for ready rolling of the chair to a new position. After repositioning, the person lowers the back of the chair to position the legs on the floor.
The chair further includes a storage bay located directly below the seat which storage bay includes an open front side that defines an entrance to the storage bay. The storage bay further opens downwardly toward the floor.
The mobile stool or cart has a box-like shape and includes multiple casters on the bottom surface thereof to support the weight of the stool and also allow the stool to be readily rolled to different locations. The stool fits within the storage bay by rolling same through the storage bay entrance.
A connector arrangement or fastening is provided within the storage bay to connect the stool to the chair when fully inserted within the storage bay and allow both components to be moved simultaneously together. In particular, the fastening engages the cart horizontally to resist removal of the cart from storage while also supporting the cart vertically during tilting of the chair. When the stool is engaged within the storage bay, lifting of the back end of the chair causes a simultaneous lifting of the back end of the stool so that the weight of the stool and the weight of the chair are supported by their respective front casters. The person thereby can move both components simultaneously to a new position. After the chair is repositioned and the chair and stool are lowered back to the floor, the stool may be removed or undocked merely by pulling the front of the stool which disengages same from the storage bay and separates the two components.
The connector arrangement provides for ready engagement and disengagement of the stool and chair and also allows for both components to be tilted and moved simultaneously together.
Other objects and purposes of the invention, and variations thereof, will be apparent upon reading the following specification and inspecting the accompanying drawings.
Certain terminology will be used in the following description for convenience and reference only, and will not be limiting. For example, the words “upwardly”, “downwardly”, “rightwardly” and “leftwardly” will refer to directions in the drawings to which reference is made. The words “inwardly” and “outwardly” will refer to directions toward and away from, respectively, the geometric center of the arrangement and designated parts thereof. Said terminology will include the words specifically mentioned, derivatives thereof, and words of similar import.